Our Fitness Blog

How much does it cost?

This is one of the most commonly asked questions in the fitness industry. Times are tight for a lot of people, so investing money in one’s health is often an area that is over looked. It is not unusual to hear this question multiple times throughout the week. At 9Round you get personal attention without the high price, but I would like to look at this thing a little further.

I would like to turn it around and ask the same question to you.

How much does it cost to be out of shape?

Now, there are some who are saying, “What do you mean? It doesn’t cost anything.” To answer that one, I will just take a moment to tell you a story.

During my sophomore year in college I decided to do something crazy. At the time, I was still trying to figure out what to do with my life, so I thought that the military was a new adventure that might be able to open some doors for me. I didn’t want to leave school, so I decided that the National Guard was the way to go. Because I was still in school, I had the option to go through basic training and AIT during the summer, and be back in time to begin the next semester. I would just do half one summer and then go back and finish the other half the next summer.

Perfect plan, right? The first summer at Ft. Benning, GA came and went without an issue. Then it was back to school and the old routine until going back to Infantry School the next summer. Admittedly, I was not in the best shape when I went back, but I really didn’t think that it would be that big of a deal. I figured they would get me in shape when I got there. What I didn’t realize was that passing that initial PT test was a requirement to continue forward with training.

Guess what….. I didn’t pass! I couldn’t believe it! In my mind I tried to blame it on the Drill Sergeant’s inability to count. Of course I wasn’t going to tell him that he needed to go back to school. In reality, it was totally on me. Because I didn’t pass, I was not allowed to move forward to begin my training. I was moved to a “special unit” that was supposed to get you in shape and ready to go to the field. I was to stay there until I was able to pass the PT test and move forward. In this unit, we basically worked out all day every day. Fortunately for me, it only took me until the end of the week to pass the test and join the next company to begin training. As the remainder of the summer went on, as you would expect, I continued to get in much better shape and was able to graduate with no problem. Keep in mind, I still had to go right back to college when I was finished.

Because I had been delayed in starting my training, I was also delayed in starting back to school. I started the next semester about 2 weeks behind and despite my efforts was never able to catch up. I ended up having to re-take all but one class.

In this case, being out of shape cost me not only a lot of time and embarrassment, but literally cost me thousands of dollars to re-take an entire semester of school.

This is just one incident that comes to mind of how my physical condition caused me to lose far more than it would have cost me to be in shape. Believe me, there are more examples that I could give you, but I can promise that I will never miss another opportunity by being out of shape.

Enough about me…

Take a look at how many companies are beginning to pay for employees to have gym memberships. Let’s be honest, they aren’t doing this to be nice. They are doing it because statistics prove that people who workout and live healthy lives are sick less often. They miss fewer days of work and don’t have to use their insurance benefits as often. Big business has realized that it is cheaper to be in shape.

Isn't it time that we all realize the same thing. Maybe it isn't a monetary cost. Maybe being out of shape has cost you time. Maybe it has cost you an opportunity. Maybe it has cost you a higher quality of life. Whatever the cost, is far less expensive to take care of yourself and be healthy.

Drew Brashier has been involved with 9Round in nearly every capacity of the company. He has been a member, trainer, owning partner of a franchise location, and now serves as a corporate officer as the Director of Operational Support.